CANSECO NAILED IN I-95 RUNDOWN

Baseball star Jose Canseco, the American League's Most Valuable Player last year, drove so fast on Interstate 95 early on Friday that a trooper who pursued his 1989 Jaguar at 120 mph could not catch up for 15 miles, police said.

The trooper, who first saw the car north of Davie Boulevard in Broward County, stopped the Oakland Athletics outfielder at State Road 826 east of I- 95 in north Dade County at 1:25 a.m.

"He said he was in a hurry," Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Tim Betts said.

Canseco, 24, was charged with reckless driving and was given a notice to appear in Broward County Court on March 16 -- a day the Oakland A's are scheduled to play a spring training game against the Chicago Cubs in Mesa, Ariz.

The charge, a misdemeanor, is punishable by a maximum of 90 days in jail and a $500 fine.

"When he was directed to stop, he did so," Betts said. "He didn't say he did it; he didn't say he didn't. ... He was a gentleman about it. There was no confrontation at all."

A male friend was with Canseco in the car, Betts said.

Betts said that Canseco, who is known for his speed and power-hitting on the baseball field -- last year he became the first player in major league history to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in the same season -- was so far ahead of the trooper that he probably did not realize he was being pursued.

Canseco, who lives in Miami in the off-season, could not be reached for comment on Friday. His agent in Los Angeles, Dennis Gilbert, did not return phone calls.

The A's, which will pay Canseco $1.6 million this year under an agreement reached last week, refused to comment.

"The official statement is that we have no comment on the Jose Canseco situation," said Jay Alves, the team's director of baseball information.